Hold Me Now
by Akita Shepherd
Summary: After leaving her home for a few years, Yoshihiro Takuma has finally made it back to Japan and is about to enter Iwatobi High School. She gets to meet some old friends from her elementary school, but she forces herself to hide her one secret from them. What is this secret she hides from them? READ AND REVIEW
1. Chapter 1

**Hello everyone~! Today I'm going to start a story based from the anime Free! Iwatobi Swim Club. If you never heard about it, I suggest you watch it. It's a short anime with only 12 episodes, but it's really good, yet it's only on episode 6. **

**To the point, I decided to do something rather different with this kind of story. I made an OC (or OCC, I can't tell the difference anymore) character of my own and named her Yoshihiro Takuma. She has a boy's name and almost anyone just calls her Yoshi. Now if you have ever watched Hiiro no Kakera or Amnesia, I'm basically going to do something like that with this story where you interact with the boys (like Haruka, Makoto, Nagisa, Rei, and maybe Rin in this case) base on the options you pick and choose who you want my character to be with at the end as close friends or even lovers. That is where you reviewers get to decide on what you want my character to do. **

**At the end of each chapter I will give you some options of what you want to happen in the next chapter. For now, we'll just meet up with some of the characters before we get to start the actual chapters. Until then, please read and review of what you think~! I will do my very best with this story!**

**~ Antoinette V. **

**Chapter 1: Reunion **

It was a nice mild day in summer with the sun just rising out from the ocean to greet the morning blue sky. The ocean waves were lapping at the sandy beach in small little tides, a small cool breeze blowing a young girl's long brown hair back. She was standing on the street alone with no one in clear sight. Her light blue eyes just remain on the waves that came on to the beach shore. How long has she been staring at it? Even she didn't know the answer, yet she continued to stare at the water. All she needed to know that it has been a long time since that day…

Recollecting her thoughts the young girl finally gave up from watching the ocean and turns to steadily walk down the road that leads to a place that gave her nostalgic memories from her elementary school days; those days with her four friends that she constantly hung around with every day.

_How are they doing now?_

Sighing heavily, she just shrugged from those happy days with her friends. Instead, she continued to walk past the old Iwatobi Swimming Club without giving a second glance at it, too upset from all of the experiences that she had with her friends back when they were only kids. She had already knew that the building was closed a few years ago and was about to be demolished soon. She was tempted to go inside before it was gone and explore the place one more, but she urge herself to get to school first, then after school she can.

The young girl just gave a small smile and walks towards her new school: Iwatobi High School.

~.~.~.~.~

"Uhh…Yoshihiro Takuma?" the teacher called out at the next student on the list. His eyes looked up from the board as he searches for the student in the classroom. The students also looked around briefly to find the missing student. The door to the classroom suddenly came open and the young girl came in, the teacher looking at her with confusion.

"Forgive me for my lateness. I'm Yoshihiro Takuma, sensei," Yoshihiro said as she came into the classroom with a shocking graceful walk that most of the students in the classroom gasped.

The teacher was having a hard time with this and gave a shaky nod. "O-Of course. Please, find a seat." Yoshihiro gave a nod and sat down in an empty seat, hearing the boys whispering quietly around her.

"She's got a boy's name."

"Did she go to the Iwatobi Swimming Club a few years ago?"

"I heard she was in the National League when she was young."

"Why isn't she back in the swimming team?"

More and more questions filled the open air and clung around the students as they watch her every move. But even after the first class was over with, more students began to notice her elegance and rather calm atmosphere. Any student she would come by she would greet with a wave and a bright smile that might make a guy fall hands over heel to her. Yet she stayed remote from the larger crowds of students. She just made her way up the stairs to the roof top of the high school.

After making it to outside Yoshihiro gave a small stretch of her arms over her head and rested them on the railing. She noticed how nice it was to see a good view of the area, especially the view of the ocean. The breeze came over, the smell of the ocean water hitting her nose. However, her eyes became uneasy from the memory that came into her mind, forcing her hand to stop shaking as she grasp it with her other hand. Thinking about the ocean…the water itself…sent a chill down her spine. The memory repeats over and over and she forces her eyes to close to block it out from her mind.

"Yoshi-chan?"

Gasping at her name being heard Yoshihiro has open her eyes to look over to her side, seeing three boys standing only a few feet away from where she's standing. The first boy was rather tall, taller than the other two. He had olive-brown like hair and lime green eyes. The next boy that was in the middle was the shortest one of the three; he had blonde curly hair and a dark pink colored eyes. And the last boy was probably a bit more taller than her; he had short blue hair and blue eyes. She nearly flinched from the way that the boy's blue eyes remind her of the ocean's depths themselves.

Yet, she recognized the three boys in front of her in an instant.

"Makoto? Nagisa? Haruka?" Yoshihiro blinked at the three that she pointed out to as she called the names.

The curly blonde boy, Nagisa Hazuki, laughed happily to see her. "Yoshi-chan~!" he cried and went over to tackle hug her, making her a bit surprised from his hug. She gave a rather happy smile and hugs him back.

"It's been a long time, hasn't it Yoshi," the olive-brown haired boy, Makoto Tachibana, said with a smile.

Yoshihiro gave a rather shy smile herself and let Nagisa release his hug. Her eyes drew to the boy with the short blue hair, seeing him looking rather calm as they made eye contact with each other.

He sighed a bit and closed his eyes. Yoshihiro gave a chuckle at his demeanor; seeing that he was still rather cold and the fact he hasn't really changed.

"Your hair grew," the blue haired boy said rather casually.

"And you haven't changed a bit. I see you're as calm as ever, Haruka Nanase," Yoshihiro spoke with an even tone, a hint of humor in them. "I bet you still love the water too. I can't ever imagining you not wanting to go swimming, not at all."

"Yeah, he was in the bathtub at his house this morning. He was wearing his swimming trunks in the tub with him," Makoto sighed rather sheepishly.

"Oh? Aren't you still doing the swimming club?" Yoshihiro asked Haruka.

"I quit swimming competitively," Haruka replied with an edge in his voice.

"What!?" Nagisa exclaimed. "Why'd you quit? I was all excited about getting to swim with you again in high school!"

"Things aren't the way they use to be."

"Haru-chan…"

Makoto just gave a gentle smile at Nagisa. "Well, he stopped swimming competitively, but he still loves the water," he said rather cheerfully.

Turning his head with a heavy sigh, Haruka noticed Yoshihiro's hands clutching onto the railing rather tightly that her hands turned slightly white. Her head was staring directly upon where the ocean was, somehow he saw something in the depths of her eyes that made him wonder what she was thinking.

"What about you Yoshi-chan? I heard you were in the National Leagues after you left. Do you still swim?" Nagisa asked Yoshihiro rather curiously. Instead of responding to his question she moved away from the railing and made her way to the door but stop once she was somewhat a distance from them. Her back was to them and her hands were clenched in fists. Makoto and Nagisa gave a confused look at her sudden reaction while Haruka just stood there watching.

"I quit swimming after I won the National Swimming Leagues… and I gave up on swimming since. Nothing more, nothing less," she told them. "I will see you guys tomorrow after class…Good day."

"Wait!?" Nagisa cried and quickly reached out and took her hand causing her to stop from taking a step, but she didn't turn around to look at him. "The swimming club that we went to in grade school is gonna be torn down soon. So before that happens, why don't we pay a visit?"

Yoshihiro stiffened, her bangs hiding her eyes as she slowly shakes her head. "Sorry…but I need to go back home and unpack the rest of my stuff. I'll go have a look once school is over with," Yoshihiro spoke gently, releasing his hold on her hand. She took the chance and walked to the door and left her friends alone on the roof.

~.~.~.~.~

Yoshihiro finally was able to leave the school behind her, making it the perfect chance to loosen up her tense muscles and stretch out at the fresh evening air surrounding her. It was nice to finally be able to see her friends again after four years. But she didn't like the fact that there was still one friend that wasn't there. It was a shame that he decided to move to a different school to get better a swimming.

Is he getting better? Is he becoming what he wanted to be or something else? It honestly didn't matter to what he does as long as it was related to swimming and nothing else. But how would she know?

Shaking her head in annoyance with the questions building up in her mind, she didn't notice that her walking had lead her back to the Iwatobi Swimming Club. From all of her deep ponderous thinking she didn't even realize how dark it was getting, and she wasn't even home. Not EVEN close.

"Oh boy…" Yoshihiro gently rubbed her eyes. The sound of sneakers came up ahead of her. She removed her hand from her face to see a man wearing a baseball cap, also seeing semi-long reddish like hair underneath the cap. Her eyes slowly widen a bit as she noticed who this person was as he continues to walk and went right by her without waiting to see who she was or why she was standing next to the old swimming club building. She stood there without moving an inch, keeping her head down low enough for her bangs to cover her eyes and stare down at the ground. Once the man made his way inside the swimming club she lifted her head and looks over her shoulder to see where he went inside. She blinked her eyes once and didn't see the man anymore, leaving her alone now on the street.

"Rin Matsuoka…?"

**Ahhh~! Sorry it's so short! But please review and tell me what you think of it so far and tell me what I need to improve to the story! Thank you~!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Free! Iawtobi Swim Club! (I mean the anime and the swim club.)**

**Yeah~! Chapter Two is out! Now, at the end of this chapter you will see some options listed that you will choose. The ones with the most reviews to the option I will write as the next chapter. Simple? Maybe not since I'm not good at describing physical body muscle or describing the way they swim. But I will do my best to give good description.**

**So thank you for reading this and let's get on with this chapter~!**

Chapter 2: Samezuka Academy

"So Rin is back from Australia."

Sitting outside on the warm grass with her three friends, Yoshi took a sip of her ice cold tea that she had in a cup and watch them for a bit, trying to act like she didn't know anything from Rin Matsuoka returning back here after four years of being in Australia and training. She wasn't really paying much close to the conversation and had her thoughts elsewhere. She was somewhat happy that Rin was back, but the way that Mako and Nagisa had described their reunion, Rin didn't give any sign that he actually cared about them but was more interested in racing Haru (aka. Haruka). Even the old trophy that they won back a few years ago didn't seem to matter to Rin. Has he really changed through those years?

Yoshi furrowed her eyebrows together, really pondering on that question that seemed to have made her mad somehow. She should have followed Rin inside the old swim club and asked him questions. It just made her more angered.

Mako (aka. Makoto), glance over at her and asks, "Did you know that Rin came back?"

Yoshi noticed that Nagisa, Haru, and Mako were all looking at her with suspicion, except Haru didn't look like he was wondering if she knew Rin was back or not. He looked like he didn't really care, but she knew him all too well to not being able to care.

She gave a bit of a sigh and briefly nodded. "I saw him last night when I was walking home. At first I didn't recognize him, but I knew from his hair color and eyes. And the fact that his sister his here is a clear sign that he has returned," Yoshi told them.

Nagisa looked a bit surprised. "I forgot he had a sister! What was her name again?" He began to ponder what her name was, his arms crossing as he began to think really hard. It almost looked like his head was about to explode from thinking so hard, but it was rather cute because he was pouting a bit.

_He hasn't changed…not one bit_, Yoshi thought to herself with an amused smile. "Her name is Gou Matsuoka. Although, she keeps on telling other people that her name is Kou and that it was written in the textbooks incorrectly," Yoshi told Nagisa after seeing him exhale in defeat.

"But I still don't get it though," Nagisa mumbled with his arms crossed over his chest. "Rin-chan was acting really weird."

"Look-alike," Haru finally spoke.

Mako leaned over close to Haru, his eyes looking blank, "Why would a look-alike challenge you to a race?"

"A ghost,"

"He wasn't floating." Nagisa pointed out.

"Or even dead…" Yoshi said, shaking at the thought.

"Doppelganger."

"Who would want to look like Rin?" Yoshi sighed.

"Oh, that takes me back!" Mako almost sounded too happy as he had remembered something. "We used to do that at the swimming club! Super Fusion: Doppelga-!"

"Keep it down, Makoto." Haru said and turned to his side lazily.

"Sorry, I wasn't paying attention." Nagisa apologized.

"I was listening to my Iphone, sorry Mako-chan." Yoshi said shyly and put her phone away.

"What's wrong with you guys!" Mako cried.

~.~.~.~.~

**Faculty Office**

"Come on! The place may be abandoned, but it's still trespassing if you enter without permission! Do you understand?" Mako and Nagisa stood in front of their teacher and listened to him about going into the old swim club without any permission to enter. Both of the students bowed their heads to him.

"I apologize." Mako spoke first in a sincere tone.

"We're sorry." Nagisa joined in.

The teacher sighed in his chair with his arms crossed over his chest; looking much older than he did as he tried to relax. His eyes wondered over to the person next to Nagisa, looking a bit confused.

"Yoshihiro, why are you here?" Yoshi blinked her blue eyes at her teacher and bows to him.

"I'm here to apologize in Haru's place. And I'm also apologizing for almost going back to the swim club myself," Yoshi explained. "I know we didn't have permission to go, but we had to because that place was really special to us, sensei. Please try and understand." She looked up at the teacher, making him wince at her sincere eyes and innocent pout.

The teacher whispered something to himself and nodded shyly. A woman from the far end of a long table got up from her seat and made her way to them. She had a rather nice smile and short brown hair.

"Now, now, I think that's enough," she said to the male teacher. "Think back to what Li Bai once said, "In human life, accomplishment must bring total joy. Do not allow an empty goblet to face the moon. You only have one life, so you should do what you want. It would be foolish not to drink from the glass placed before you." Right?"

Yoshi looked at her with a blank expression, utterly confused by the quote that she said. She glances at Mako, Nagisa, and her male teacher to see the same expression on their faces. The quote itself was probably incorrect and belongs to two different people from the Hang Dynasty or something like that. She better do something that could make some sense at the situation at hand. She came up with a quote and smiled.

"Do you mean the line that Lao Tzu said, "Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Don't resist them - that only creates sorrow. Let reality be reality. Let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like." Am I correct, Miho Amakata sensei?" Yoshi corrected her with a small smile.

Miho looked a bit surprised from what Yoshi had said, but gave a rather embarrassed smile and nods. "I'm happy that you were paying attention to literature class. You seemed really good at quotes. Too good I say," Miho looked a little too flustered at the fact Yoshi did a good quote better than she did.

Yoshi gave a shy smile. "I learned it from you, Miho sensei," she told her, giving a bow to her before turning around and leave the room. Mako and Nagisa were stunned for a bit before following her out of the room.

"That was amazing, Yoshi-kun~!" Nagisa came next to Yoshi's side, looking happy.

"You helped Miho sensei and fixed the quote. That was pretty nice of you," Mako smiled and stood on the other side of Yoshi.

Blushing from their comments, Yoshi just kept her shy smile and giggled a bit, "Thanks. Someone had to help her. But, anyways, are you two going to find out if Rin's in this school? Because I'm going to tell you this now, he's not."

Mako stops and looks at her, a little baffled, "How do you know he's not?"

Yoshi stopped and turns to face him. "If he were in this school, we would have seen him in our classes since he was in the same grade as us. And he would also be noticeable if we saw him on our school's campus grounds," Yoshi pointed out to him simply.

Nagisa moved in close to her, his face almost close to hers. "So, do you know where Rin-chan is, Yoshi-kun?" he asked politely.

Yoshi nearly turned red on how close Nagisa's face was to hers. She closed her eyes and moves back away from him, saying, "If I knew where he was, I would have told you by now. Also, please don't put –kun at the end of my name. It's a little bit weird for me since I am a girl."

"But you're a girl with a boyish name. I can't call you 'Yoshi-chan' because it sounds weird!" Nagisa exclaimed.

"I like Yoshi-kun. It makes it sound sweeter. Besides that, it's more appropriate," Mako reasoned gently.

Yoshi nearly blushed red, but she turned around and began to walk away. "Just find out where Rin goes to school at!" she yelled at them and went to her next class.

~.~.~.~.~

Once school was done for the day, Yoshi didn't decide to go home immediately; instead, she had a feeling she knew where Rin was. If he didn't go to her high school, then maybe he went to Samezuka Academy, the swimming powerhouse. It's an all-male boarding school and it would be the perfect place for Rin to be at.

Taking the first train ride to the academy, she took out her Iphone to see if there were any calls from any of her friends. So far, there wasn't any, and it might be a good thing but they will find out soon where Rin's currently at. She personally wanted to see for herself how much Rin has changed over the course of years he's been away. The details that Mako and Nagisa told her, he was rather cold towards them. The idea of Rin being a cold person didn't come to her mind, but maybe something less cold; maybe mean or probably cruel. All she knew was that she had to go see him and talk to him face-to-face.

By the time she got off from the train the sun was beginning to set and the skies were turning more of a bright golden color. The streets and roads had fewer cars out at this time and usually the temperature drops. Yoshi had left a message at her house to tell her father where she was going and won't be coming back home until late at night. Until she was finished with her message, she walked down a road that lead straight for Samezuka.

It wasn't long before she saw the high school building and next to it the large indoor swimming pool. It was pretty dark out by then and she just assumed that the indoor pool was empty. She was considering of coming back in the morning and visit, but she suddenly noticed three guys heading towards the indoor pool and went inside. Not soon after another guy came out from the shadows and went inside. She noticed that the last one had brownish-red hair and was wearing a Samezuka uniform.

It was Rin!

Suddenly her feet forced her into a fast run towards the indoor pool. Only once she was at the door Yoshi took steady breathes to calm down, then turned the door knob and opens the door. She went inside and came to a stop, her eyes barely going wide. Mako and Nagisa were in the pool while Haru and Rin were staring at each other.

"Rin…" Yoshi barely whispered his name, her eyes suddenly looking furious. Rin looked over to see her standing there.

"Ah, Yoshi, it's been a while," Rin spoke with a mild tone, smiling a bit to show his shark-like teeth. "I'm actually glad you came here. I was about to race Haru and I was just about to mention you. And the thing is, I wish to challenge you to a race, Yoshi. Will you accept?"

Yoshi's eyes were extremely wide at his challenge, her hand clutching to her bag strap more tightly as it began to shake uncontrollably.

What should she do?

**Phew! Done with Chapter 2~! Ok, so in the next chapter (which might be a bit longer than this one) Nagisa is going to mention about making a new swim club with Mako and Haru. Of course they're going to do it, but what about Yoshi? Will she join the swim club with her friends? Here's a choice that you can pick:**

**No. Yoshi shouldn't join the club, but instead she can be the personal advisor and be the one to give the advice. She won't be able to show why she doesn't want to join and will be questioned.**

**Yes. Yoshi should join the team and be closer to her friends once again. She could help them and interact with each of her friends, and maybe show a bit more of why she doesn't want to swim. **

**Until then, choose A or B and I will pick the one with the most votes! Thanks for reading and reviewing this too~!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3 is here! And I want to thank you awesome people that reviewed about my story so far (or personally PM me about it) and chosen one of the options from the last chapter. I will put another set of options for you guys to choose from again, without trying to spoil much of what will happen in the next chapter. So please, enjoy this chapter and this story~! **

**Chapter 3: The Swim Club**

Bright rays of light came out from the window curtains that dim the dark room with some sort of light. And sitting silently on top of her bed in that dark room was Yoshi, staring vacantly down at her bedroom floor with her blanket sheets tightly wrapped around her. She had her legs tucked in to her chest, letting her head rest on top of her knees as she began to recollect what had happen the night at Samezuka Academy at the indoor pool…

_**~ Two Nights Ago~**_

_Taking position on the steps, both Rin and Haru barely stood a foot away from each other; wearing their swimsuits and having their goggles on top of their heads as they prepare themselves for a race. Mako and Nagisa had gotten out from the pool and were standing on the white-tiled floor and had briefly been dried off. _

_Yoshi stood next to Mako, her eyes still barely wide from Rin's challenge and a bit stunned. What should she do? What can she do? All she knew was that she had to refuse Rin's challenge no matter what. She couldn't race him, not even if her life depended on it._

_Rin began to adjust his goggles on top of his head. He glanced over at Haru next to him. "As always, I can't make any sense of you," he said. Haru just looks at him as he moved his goggles over his face, looking rather calm at what Rin said and didn't really care for his words. Or so we think._

"_Whatever," Haru told Rin, his body flexing rather fitly as he gets ready. "You better get ready, Rin."_

_Rin barely wince from Haru's words, then smirks at him. "And you're as icy as ever," Rin replied, almost making a tsking sound with his shark-like teeth. "Yeah… You really piss me off." He then put his goggles on and made sure they fit good on his face._

_Haru didn't seem to hear Rin and looks over at Mako. "Makoto, give us the start signal." _

_Mako blinks for a moment and nods, "Okay."_

"_We'll race 100 meters…freestyle." Rin told them as he bent his body down, his hands grabbing on the step he was on. Haru bends down as well with his hands grasping onto the step as well. _

_Mako inhaled deeply and looks at the two once they're in position. "Ok, ready… Go!"_

_Both leaping off from the steps into midair at the same time and diving gracefully into the pool almost made Yoshi flinch hard from the water flying in the air as she watch the two swim fast to the end of the pool. Rin was ahead of Haru halfway down the line._

"_Wow! Rin-chan has a stronger kick!" Nagisa cried out as he watches the two swim. _

"_But…Haru's stroke is faster!" Mako said. _

_A hand took hold of Mako's wet shirt arm, gently holding onto it rather tightly as the hand began to shake. Mako looks over at Yoshi, her brown bangs hiding her eyes as her entire body began to shake uncontrollably. He was immediately concerned with her because this was the first time that he has ever seen her shake this much, especially now._

"_Yoshi, what's wrong?"Mako turns to her, his hand gently taking hers from his arm and holds it._

_For some reason her had had just moved on its own and grabbed hold onto Mako's arm. She didn't know why she grabbed him, but she just had to hold onto something. She needed to calm herself._

_Yoshi didn't look up to meet his eyes, but she held onto his hand. "I…I can't race Rin…" she barely whispers. _

_Mako just blinks at her in confusion then asks, "Why?"_

"_I just…I can't swim anymore…" Yoshi slip her hand out from his and slowly took a step back._

"_Ah! They're neck to neck!" Nagisa yelled out, making Mako and Yoshi look back at the pool as Rin and Haru drew close to the finish. _

_And with a loud slam against the side of the pool, Rin won the race. Mako and Nagisa were surprised and raced over to the edge of the pool. Haru was breathing lightly, but he was rather calm with Rin winning._

"_Yoshi-chan!" Nagisa shouted out unexpectedly, not seeing Yoshi with them in the indoor pool room anymore._

"I'm so useless!" Yoshi snapped at herself, covering her face with her hand to hide her shame. She ran away at that moment because she was scared, no, terrified to race Rin in the pool. But she knew she couldn't, not after everything she had been through and forced to forget that moment, that one memory. It still haunts her in her sleep no matter where she goes. Nothing helps.

She suddenly heard her phone vibrate on her desk table, making her reach over to the blue Iphone and looks at her messages. She gave a small smile to see it was Mako texting. He's been texting her for the last two days, always checking up on her. Then her eye twitches suddenly when she saw 20 missed text messages from Nagisa. He must be panicking for some odd reason. She opened his box and read through each of the text messages that she missed, noticing that the last message nearly got her off guard:

_**N (Nagisa): Oi, u should really come back soon! Mako-chan and Haru-chan all agreed to start a swimming club together! Isn't that great~!**_

Yoshi felt her hand shake a little bit, letting herself read the message again and again. She nearly jumped when she felt it vibrate in her hand, startling her as she saw Mako send her another message. She opens it and reads it:

_**M (Mako): I guess Nagisa already told you that we're starting up the swimming club together…but I've been worried about you for a while now. I know you've been acting a bit odd lately, but I don't want to pry in your personal business. I just want you to be with us again…**_

A small smile came to her lips from reading Mako's text. He was always so nice and concerned about his friends' welfare. That's what makes her happy that he and Nagisa care about her. But it makes her wonder…does Haru have a phone? Yoshi somehow laughed at the thought of him using a phone, maybe because he won't ever use it. Smiling she began to text a message to Mako:

_**Y (Yoshi): It's nice of you and Nagisa to worry about me, but I'm really fine. I've just been under the weather. I'll tell you something about me when the time is right, I promise. Until then…I'll be back tomorrow.**_

After she sent the text Yoshi decided to get to bed early and get ready for school in the morning.

**In the Morning**

Finally arriving at the school in her blue car, Yoshi got out and stretched her arms over her head feeling the warmth of the sun shining above her and warming up her aching limbs. Well, she didn't feel achy because she exercises a lot and does stretches; it's just the thought of being in her cold house that makes her bones ache for no reason at all. She'll have to ask her father to fix the thermos stat whenever he gets home. Until then she's stuck in a very cold ice cube of a home.

She went inside her school and went to each of her classes, giving her teachers' her missing assignments from the last two days she was absent. They were a bit surprised that she went ahead of the subjects they were teaching and had gotten ahead of most of her classmates. And since she was ahead of her classmates, all of her teachers said the same thing to her, "You get a few days of free time." This wasn't the first time this happened to her, but she actually liked having some free time. It helps give her a chance to do things that she wants to be doing. But for now, she needs to find her friends. It wasn't hard.

She had walked out of her classroom and found all three of her friends leaving the faculty room with Miho sensei taking the lead. Yoshi had a feeling that she was taking them somewhere outside, and she was very reluctant to find out.

Chasing after them from behind Yoshi made sure that they didn't see her as she continues to follow them. Somehow she knew where they were going. So she waited for them to go outside first then waits for a few minutes before following them and heads outside.

Feeling a light draft of warm air hit her as she widens her eyes a bit to see what was the Iwatobi High School's only swimming pool. Weeds, overgrown plants, and mold… the pool has blended in with nature itself. Her three friends and Miho sensei were also staring at the pool, then Mako and Haru tried taking a step back but Nagisa's and Miho's hand grabbed onto both of them before they could leave. They were saying something that Yoshi couldn't very well. She just smiled and got up the steps, crossing her arms and whistles that catches their attention.

"My, my, you guys have a lot of cleaning to do," Yoshi smiles softly at them.

"Yoshi-kun~!" Nagisa laughs happily and tackle hugs her in a bear hug.

"Welcome back, " Mako smiled at her.

Yoshi saw Haru looking at her casually with his regular stare, giving her a nod and looks away.

"You came in just in time, Yoshi-kun," Miho came over to her with a gentle smile. "These boys were just about to go clean the entire pool to its regular state."

"Don't tell me…" Yoshi's eye twitches as the three boy's look at her.

"Can you please help us Yoshi-chan?" Nagisa pouts and looks at her with begging eyes. Yoshi sweat dropped a bit from his look and glances over his shoulder to look at the pool. It needs a lot of work, that's for sure. Not only that, her father is one of the people in charge of top rated swimming leagues and championships, one of the reasons why he is never gone, and the other fact was that he makes the pools in the top states in the world. And her friends knew she was an expert on fixing pools and making them brand new.

Yoshi sighs a bit and looks at them, "Do you really need my help?"

"Please!" all three of her friends yelled at her at the same time.

Yoshi shrugs her shoulders and complied with a nod, "Fine, I'll help, but you'll have to do everything I say. Got it?"

"We can't thank you enough for your help," Mako said to her.

"Please, don't thank me just yet," Yoshi said to him. "Well, first things for, I'm going to change into some pants then we can start by getting rid of those weeds in the pool…"

As she instructs them on how to pull the weeds out without damage more of the pool, she got her spare pants on and helped them clean out the pool. Once they had gotten all of the weeds out, Mako pointed out some cracks in the pool. Yoshi said that they needed to get some things from the store to fix the cracks.

Yoshi decided to drive them to the Dolphin Department Store not too far off from the school and get the supplies with them. Once they made their way into the store, Yoshi, Mako, and Nagisa were looking at the paints and brushes for coloring the pool they all noticed that Haru wasn't with them. Yoshi found him in front of a large fish tank, unbuttoning his shirt and was wearing his swimsuit before trying to get in. Luckily she, Nagisa, and Mako stopped him from getting in the fish tank.

After getting the supplies they needed, Yoshi drove them back to the school and finished for the day.

On the second day on fixing the pool, Nagisa made a poster in class for people to join the swimming club. Mako made a faulty smile, but soon the Haru pulled out his poster and shown an artistic master piece; the art club members tried taking Haru away from them. Soon they went back outside to continue working on the pool; Nagisa trimming the branches that were on the other side of the fence while Mako and Haru followed Yoshi's directions on putting cement on the cracks to the pool. After they applied the cement on they decided to take a break and let the cement dry, letting them get the chance to have lunch.

Yoshi stretches her arms over her head as she carried her box of lunch with her in a nice navy blue bag out from her locker. She stopped at the sidewalk leading up to the pool when she saw Haru still cleaning the pool. A smile came to her lips as she turns around and walks to the pool to join him.

Haru was cleaning the floor of the pool by himself. Yoshi was smiling when she sits down at the edge of the pool to watch him while she eats. She also remember something as she pulls something out form her blue navy bag.

"Haru!" Haru looks up from his cleaning and blinks when he notices her sitting there. She held a small box in her hand. "I hope you're hungry! I made some mackerel from home!" she told him with a cheeky smile. Haru blinks at it for a moment, his stomach growling at him suddenly at the mention of the mackerel. He came over and puts the brush aside against the wall of the pool and comes up to join her.

Yoshi smiles softly and hands him the box of mackerel. "I had a feeling you still like it. And I know that's pretty much the only thing I know you eat at home," Yoshi told him gently. Haru remains silent and glances over at her.

"Arigato," Yoshi heard him thank her, making her blush slightly and nods.

"You're welcome, Haru."

~.~.~.~.~

It's the third day of working on the pool and all they needed to do was repaint the faded lines. Yoshi was painting the white lines from one end to the other end of the pool; Nagisa was painting the center white line diagonally; Mako and Haru were painting the sides of the pool blue. They were probably going to be finished by today or tomorrow once the painting is finished and dried up.

Miho was lounging on a chair with a umbrella over her head, trying to keep the sun off from her. Yoshi could understand why she was trying to keep the son off of her, but it wasn't an excuse for her to sit there watching. But that wasn't her main concern; it was the heat itself.

Stopping her painting and sitting down at the ground, Yoshi was panting lightly from the heat making her very warm. She was wearing her light jacket to keep the paint off of her, but it was making her body too hot. She finally sighed and stood back and walked out from the pool.

"I'll be right back. I'm going to go change my shirt," she told her friends real quick and went inside the club. She stepped aside when she saw the door open and a girl with red burgundy hair up in a ponytail came out holding a plastic bag full of drinks. Yoshi blinked at the girl, the girl looking at her. "Kou? Is that you?"

The girl's bright amber eyes blinked at her in recognition and tackle hugs her, "Yoshi~! It's been a long time. I finally get to see you too!" she said happily and releases her hug.

"Yes, it's been a long time indeed. You still don't like to be called "Gou", do you?" Yoshi asked her.

"NO! I prefer to be called Kou because it's written incorrectly in the books!" Kou almost snapped from hearing the mention name she didn't like.

Yoshi smile cheekily. "You haven't changed. Oh, I'll be right back; I gotta change my shirt so I can help them finish the painting to the pool!" Yoshi said and went inside the club. She went to her school bag and reached out to take her shirt out.

She finished getting dressed and went back outside, pulling her long brown hair up in a ponytail as she does. She had a white tank top on with her jacket wrapped around her waist. She was use to wearing tank tops, but once she had come back down to and went right past the boys she noticed that they were looking at her.

"What?" Yoshi glared at them before they turned around going back to their work. She swore Mako was blushing to some degree along with Nagisa in some way. She just gave another sigh and continued with her painting.

~.~.~.~.~

Her two days of free time were over and she went back to her normal school days and receiving homework as normal. Since she's back, she told the boys that she couldn't come and help finish the rest of the work because she had an exam coming up in her class soon. So when school had ended she went straight back home to do some studying.

Finally finishing the last of her project, Yoshi glanced at the clock that read 9:00 pm on it. She was thinking of doing some shopping to add more food into her refrigerator and maybe make something for her friends. It didn't sound like a bad idea, so she got her car keys and went to the grocery store. She got some mackerel and squid and some sweets. How can Nagisa eat so many sweets in one frickin' day!? She can't even tell if he's even gain weight from so many sweets!

Driving back home she saw someone walking alone down the road that went to the old swimming pool that she went to with Haru and the others, even with Rin at the time. She drove off to the side of the road and got out from her vehicle, walking to the other side of the road to have a look at the person staring out at the ocean with a phone in his hand.

"Mako-chan?" Mako heard his name being called and turned to look over to his right to see Yoshi narrowing her eyes to see him.

"Ah, what are you doing here?" Mako asks her as she came next to him.

"I was driving home after doing some grocery shopping. I saw you walking down the road and stopped to come see what you were doing. Were you talking to someone?"

"No, I was trying to call Rin. I left him a message saying that he should join the swimming team since we're going to compete for the tournament. Kou told me that he didn't join the swimming team at Samezuka Academy." Mako explained to her.

"I see," Yoshi said and looked out to the ocean, seeing the starry night above.

"I met Goro Sasabe at the old swimming club. He told me what happened before Rin decided to move to Australia," Mako said suddenly. "Rin and Haru raced and Haru easily won. I think now I understand why Haru quit competitive swimming because he hurt Rin."

"I know." Yoshi interrupted him, his eyes turning to her.

"You did?"

"Yeah… Rin came to my house looking very upset with tears in his eyes," Yoshi said, her hands clutching onto her jacket. "He was so upset that he lost to Haru…he asked for my advice and wanted to know what he can do to get better. I wasn't sure what to say, but I told him, "The only way you want to beat someone that is better than you is to get stronger and practice." After that… all I knew was that he moved to Australia to get better. In a sense, I think he really wants to be better than Haru so that he can move on…" Yoshi sighs sadly, standing back up and straightens herself.

"I think I gave him some bad advice," Yoshi said sadly.

Mako just gave a soft smile and looks up to the night sky. "None of it is your fault, Yoshi-chan," Yoshi looks over at him, seeing him look at her now. "You gave him something to motivate himself to get better. You gave him something that only you can give to others. It's having strong faith to help your friends."

Stunned by his words, Yoshi gave a small smile at his words. "Thanks, Mako," she thanked him with a shy smile. "C'mon, I'll give you a lift and drop you off at home."

Mako smiles and follows her to her car.

"I'm still surprised that you actually got your license at 17. How did you ever get your license?"

~.~.~.~.~

"Ok~! Here's to the establishment of the new swim club!" Miho sensei said to them all with a cup of juice in her hands. Everyone was around her and held the same cup of juice in their hands. The pool was finished and it was filled with nice fresh water.

"Cheers!" They said at the same time.

"So Kou, you are the manager of the Swim Club?" Yoshi asked her friend Kou.

"Hai. I volunteered to be their manager!" Kou said rather happily.

"Well, I'm glad. Take care of these troublemakers for me." Yoshi teased.

"Wait, Yoshi!" Nagisa said and puts his drink down. "You should join us! We can't be a team without you being in out Swimming Club!"

Yoshi's body stiffened. She knew this was coming sooner or later and she had to give an answer to them. "I'm sorry, Nagisa. I think I'll say no to this," Yoshi said rather calmly.

"Aww, you gotta join us, Yoshi-chan!" Nagisa pouted.

"But I didn't say I wouldn't help you," Nagisa stopped his pouting and looks at her. "I will be your Personal Adviser. And I'll help you guys whenever you need it, OK?"

This made Nagisa happy that he tackled hugs her, "You're the best!"

"Hai, hai, now can you let me go." Yoshi said. She watches as Haru removes his shirt and pants, showing himself wearing his swimsuit, ONCE AGAIN!?

"No, Haru! Don't go into the water!"

**And that's it folks! Chapter 3 is complete and it took me a bit longer to get it done. Next chapter we will meet the fourth member of the swim team, Rei Ryugazaki. I'm just going to skip the part when he was nagged by Nagisa and embarrassed himself and we'll have to the point where he joins the swim team. I think this chapter will be a bit more funny and dramatic. But this will be more dramatic in the next chapter; something will happen to Yoshi that she'll have to confess her secret. **

**So I'll make some options for you reviewers to choose from once again and with the most votes will come to the next chapter. Now that we got that, choose one of the options below; one person will accidently push Yunita and the other will save her. Who will it be the person to push her and who will be the saver?**

**A) Rei and Mako**

**B) Nagisa and Haru**

**C) Rei and Haru**

**D) Nagisa and Mako**

**Choose options A, B, C, or D. Until then I'm glad you've enjoyed this story so far and I hope you continue to review of what you think of it! Thanks again~!**


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